Defending champions Al Ahli Saudi FC survived a gruelling extra-time battle at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Monday night, advancing to the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Qatar\u2019s Al Duhail. The decisive moment came just three minutes before the match was due to go to a penalty shootout, when Riyad Mahrez curled home a stunning left-footed free kick in the 117th minute to send the Jeddah faithful into raptures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Algerian winger had endured a frustrating evening alongside his Al Ahli teammates, who struggled to unlock a disciplined Al Duhail side throughout ninety minutes and into extra time. The Qatari goalkeeper Salah Zakaria had been exceptional, denying Ivan Toney from the penalty spot deep in the first half of extra time \u2014 a save that threatened to take the tie to a shootout and the drama to a new level entirely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
But Mahrez, one of the most technically gifted players in Asian club football today, refused to allow the evening to slip away. From a free kick position outside the penalty area, he shaped the ball with his left foot, bending it beyond Zakaria\u2019s reach and into the corner of the net. The stadium erupted. Al Ahli were through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Speaking after the final whistle, Mahrez was candid about the performance while looking firmly ahead to the quarterfinals. \u201cIt was a difficult game, I don\u2019t think we played very well,\u201d the Algerian said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we went to extra time. They\u2019re a good team, Al Duhail, but at the end we made it on a free kick and we\u2019re happy to go through.\u201d He subsequently challenged his teammates to raise their performance levels as the defending champions prepare to go deeper into the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Al Ahli\u2019s path to the quarterfinals came on a historic night for Saudi football at the King Abdullah Sports City, which also hosted the parallel tie between Al Hilal and Al Sadd of Qatar. In a match that went the distance across ninety enthralling minutes and ended 3-3, Roberto Mancini\u2019s Al Sadd prevailed 4-2 on penalties, eliminating four-time winners Al Hilal in dramatic fashion \u2014 with Karim Benzema missing in the shootout.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The AFC Champions League Elite Finals are scheduled to take place in Jeddah, placing Saudi Arabia at the very heart of the most prestigious club competition in Asia. Al Ahli\u2019s presence in the last eight cements the Kingdom\u2019s standing on the continental stage, and supporters at the King Abdullah Sports City witnessed a night that confirmed why this tournament draws the attention of football fans across the region. The quarterfinal draw awaits, and Al Ahli\u2019s appetite \u2014 fuelled by Mahrez\u2019s late brilliance \u2014 is very much intact.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defending champions Al Ahli Saudi FC survived a gruelling extra-time battle at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Monday night, advancing to the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Qatar\u2019s Al Duhail. The decisive moment came just three minutes before the match was due to go to a penalty shootout, when Riyad Mahrez curled home a stunning left-footed free kick in the 117th minute to send the Jeddah faithful into raptures. Mahrez Finds the Moment When It Mattered Most The Algerian winger had endured a frustrating evening alongside his Al Ahli teammates, who struggled<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Mahrez's 117th-Minute Free Kick","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Riyad Mahrez scored a stunning 117th-minute free kick to send defending champions Al Ahli into the AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n